Another extranjero bites the dust
“Another extranjero bites the dust”
What happens when you follow the programs on TV and make the move to relocate to Spain?
This from spanishpropertyinsight.com
(All names have been changed)
Like many people that move to Spain we had been avid watchers of “A Place in the Sun, “No Turning Back” and similar programmes. We were particularly scathing of those who got into difficulties – how could they be so naïve? Why did they not check this or that? We said to ourselves that we would not fall into such traps little thinking that within 2 years of moving to Spain we would have made many avoidable mistakes. How did this happen? Well the story begins with our initial planning.
When I retired we decided to go for broke and sell up completely in the UK on the basis that if we were going to move to Spain we were going to commit wholly to this course of action. We sold our house near Guildford relatively quickly and also the car. With our furniture in storage and arrangements made to rent a property in Salobrena that we had not even seen we set off from Gatwick with David our 3 year old in tow and the cat Charlie.
The estate agent was waiting as planned at the rendevous in Salobrena and he took us to what would be our new home for the next 8 months right on the sea front and providing an excellent base from which to explore and learn about the local area. We had decided that we wanted a villa with 3 / 4 bedrooms set in approximately 1000 sq m of land and with good access to the local schools and shops. As it transpired this was not as straightforward as we thought it was going to be. We viewed over 50 properties several of which initially seemed to be just what we were looking for but in each case when we investigated further there were drawbacks and snags that put us off. It was at this stage that we decided on a change of strategy and this is were we headed down the path that led to our undoing.
Tags: spain, estate agent
